River View Park, Omaha, Neb.

Color postcard (13.5 cm x 9 cm) with a view of Riverview Park, 3625 South 10th Street, Omaha, Nebraska. View is looking straight down the lagoon with trees lining all edges. There are people standing on the left side of the image. The sky in the distance is red. The tree on the right side is reflected in the still water. The title is at the bottom center of the card.

In keeping with H.W.S. Cleveland's philosophy that parkland should be acquired by a municipality before growth reaches it, Park Commissioners selected a hilly area along the Missouri River between Omaha and South Omaha. Between 1893 and 1899, 111 acres were acquired through eminent domain. Present boundaries of the park are Interstate 80, Riverview Blvd., and Grover Street on the north and east, Gifford Drive and railroad tracks on the south, and 10th Street on the east. Spectacular views of the Missouri River give the park its name. Park superintendent W.R. Adams completed the scenic design for the park with a lagoon and beautiful drives. Beginning in 1896, Riverview Park had a collection of animals. In 1964, the park was leased to the Omaha Zoological Society as the site for Henry Doorly Zoo. Source: Wakeley, Arthur. Omaha: The Gate City and Douglas County Nebraska, Chicago: S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, c1917, p. 161.